TESL 0170 Practicum - Teaching Observations

Observation Journal Report

           

General Information
Dates:    March 12 – March 22, 2018 Times:   Mon + Wed 1:30 – 3:30, Fri 10:30 – 12:30 Teacher: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX TESL student: Etienne Robin	Institution: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Course:  ELS 500 English for Communication Level: 500 A (High Beginner – Low Intermediate) Lesson Topics: -         Delivering good news and bad news -         Young adults living at home -         Culture shock -         Learning a new language -         Researching an English Language School Learning Outcomes:          -         Recognize and use target vocabulary when speaking in English. -         Listen to English more effectively in a variety of settings and recognize target vocabulary. -         Improve oral communication skills. Learning Objectives: -         Expose students to a variety of authentic listening materials, including phone conversations, face-to-face conversations, radio broadcasts and academic lectures. -         Engage students in a variety of speaking activities, including role plays, presentations and debates.		Length of the Lessons: 2 hours       Number of Students: 16 Seating Arrangement: rows of tables, with four students in each row
Spotlight on the Learners
What patterns of attention can you observe?		Overall students were attentive during class and would eagerly participate by asking questions and doing the activities. Sometimes though, a student or two would be looking at their phones while the teacher presented new material or spoke to the class, but they usually didn’t do this for very long. In addition to this, there were a couple of times near the end of class where a few of the students began to look distracted and somewhat disinterested. The teacher would quickly pick up on this and change up the activity to increase the energy levels in the classroom. Because this class is held near the end of the school day, I imagine this is a result of the students simply being tired after being in class for so long.
What types of questions do learners ask?		Students asked questions about grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and occasionally asked questions for clarification about instructions for activities or upcoming evaluations. Students would ask these questions either during class time or would come to the teacher after class. The teacher was always eager to help his students and made himself readily available.
What participation patterns can you observe?		Students actively participated in the different activities the teacher prepared. They especially seemed to enjoy pair and group work activities. Students also seemed to get along well one another. The majority of the class were either Japanese or Chinese, but fortunately this did not result in them interacting solely with their L1 peers.
Additional observations:		Attendance for this class was great, none of the 16 students missed a class during my hours of observation.
Spotlight on the Teacher
What is the balance of teacher-centred and student-centred activities?		The teacher alternated between teacher-centred and student-centred activities during the class time, with a greater emphasis on student -centred activities. Aside from explaining new materials or going over instructions, the teacher made an effort to incorporate student participation as much as possible. The teacher gave the students many opportunities to work in groups and think-pair-shares in order to shift the focus from him onto the students.
How does the teacher confirm student comprehension?		The teacher circles the classroom and observes the students as they do group work, occasionally interacting with them. However, anytime he did this, he would wait a couple of minutes to let    the students begin their discussions without any interruptions. After giving out instructions, the teacher will ask a couple of students to say back to him what they are to do. When going over new grammar points, he will elicit answers from the students. Lastly, he will also get students to write their answers on the board.
How does the teacher adapt their speech to the level of the learners?		The teacher spoke clearly, used simpler vocabulary, and maintained a close-to-normal speed.
How does the teacher encourage student participation?		The teacher often elicited answers from the students when instructing them. In doing this, he would also get the students to relate the material to their own personal situations. He would also praise them frequently when they would answer in front of the class or when he would check in on them doing group work.
Additional observations:		The teacher wrote the objectives of each day’s lesson on the board and made sure to write the dates of any upcoming evaluations. During the first few classes, the teacher had the students make name signs that they kept on their desk so as to make it easier for everyone to learn each other’s names.

Spotlight on Error Correction
What is the balance between activities that focus on fluency and accuracy?	In this class, there is a greater focus on fluency activities. Whenever the students worked in pairs or small groups, the teacher would get the students to work on their fluency. However, when the students would be presenting in front of the class, or answering questions on the board, the teacher would focus on accuracy in their language. Any grammar mistakes that would come up would be corrected.
How often are errors corrected?	Errors were corrected after roleplay skits, and group presentations. Occasionally, when the students worked in pairs, the teacher would listen in on the students and would offer corrections here and there. However, he kept this to a minimum because here he wanted the students to focus on fluency, rather than accuracy. The teacher would also correct grammar and vocabulary whenever the students came up to write answers on the board or would answer the questions verbally.
What types of error correction are used?	The teacher would: -         Correct the error directly. -         Repeat the sentence, placing emphasis on the error. -         Recast the sentence, saying the correct form, but asking it as a question to the student. The student would then repeat the correct form. -         Indicate the type of error the student made and ask them for the correct answer. The teacher also encouraged the students to help one another. For instance, the students would often compare answers with a partner after completing a listening activity.
Additional observations	The teacher uses a rubric when evaluating the students on roleplay skits or group presentations. He gives these rubrics out beforehand, so that the students know what is expected of them. During the roleplay skit presentations, the teacher had the students use the same rubric to grade their peers.
Spotlight on Classroom Management
What techniques does the teacher use to build rapport with the students?	The teacher called the students by name and took time to chat with them one on one as he walked around the class. He would ask them about their home country, what their interests are, etc. The teacher also used humor with the students while he taught.
How do students interact with each other?	All of the students get along well with one another. The teacher puts the students into new pairs every class, so this gives them many opportunities to interact with everyone. When being put into pairs, the teacher makes an effort to put two students with different L1s together, this way they must use English to complete the activities. However, from time to time, students do help each other in their L1, when they have a hard time expressing themselves.
Are there any interruptions to the learning and teaching?	Overall, there weren’t very many interruptions to the learning and teaching process, and any that did occur were very minor. When the students were divided up, they would take a minute or so to get into their groups. On one occasion, the teacher had difficulty connecting the digital projector to his laptop, so that took 5 or so minutes to resolve. Lastly, after the students presented their dialogues, the teacher took a minute to speak with each group on how they did and went over any grammar or vocabulary mistakes they made. While this took place, the other students would quietly chat with their peers or use their cellphones.
How are interruptions handled?	Anytime an interruption did happen, whether it be when the teacher was setting up technology or going over answers with students after a role play presentation, the students would work quietly on their own. I found that the teacher was very effective in minimizing the number of interruptions in the classroom, and so little time was wasted.
Additional observations:	There is no assigned seating arrangement in this classroom, however, at the start of every class, the teacher divides the students up into pairs that the students will work in for the rest of the class. As was mentioned earlier, the teacher pays careful attention to the energy/interest levels of the students and changes things up to get the students more engaged.
Spotlight on Teaching Methods and Techniques
What warm-up activities are used?	The teacher used games, YouTube videos, and class/small group discussions to get the students thinking about the topic of the upcoming lesson. One activity that I thought was particularly fun had students brainstorm good news and bad news scenarios and write them down on papers. The teacher then collected the papers and then had students come up and choose a paper at random. If a student got a paper with good news, they had to present that good news, but also had to make up bad news to complement what was written on the paper. If they got a paper with bad news, they’d do the opposite.
What review activities are used?	The teacher used vocabulary practice activities, and pair work activities to review previous material. He also used PowerPoint slides to go over vocabulary the class had gone over previously. During these activities, he’d elicit answers from the students to check how much of the previous material they had taken in.
How is new material presented?	The teacher introduces new material by first building student interest. He does this through showing them YouTube videos or initiating class discussions that get the students to relate the material to their own experiences. Then he follows up with an explanation of the language feature or vocabulary by writing example sentences on the board and eliciting answers from the students. If he is going over pronunciation or spoken language items, he will often get the students to repeat after him. When doing listening activities, the teacher will introduce the theme of the audio recording and get students to go over the vocabulary that will appear before getting them to listen.
How is new material practiced?	The teacher gets the students to practice new material through role plays, short games, pair work and discussion questions. Students will initially go over new material alone, and then work together with a partner to reinforce their understanding. In terms of listening activities, students will listen to the audio recording several times, each time focusing on a different area. The first time they listen, they focus on writing down main ideas. The second time they listen, they then answer more detailed questions. Finally, during the third time, they listen for language features or vocabulary that they learned earlier in the lesson.
How is the lesson concluded?	The lesson is usually concluded with an activity that gets the students to use the language they learned for communicative purposes. The teacher will get the students to do role play skits, chart-fill-ins where the students ask their peers questions, and group discussions. During the last couple of minutes of class, the teacher will also brief the students on what will be covered in the next class as well as any assignments they must complete or tests they must prepare for.
What filers are used?	Due to the large amount of content that is offered in the textbook, the teacher is usually not able to do every activity. Therefore, when there is extra time, he will usually get the students to do one of the activities he hadn’t included in the main lesson plan. For instance, in one class we went over some questions on culture shock that had not been initially included in that day’s lesson plan. The teacher went over some culture shock related vocabulary and then had the students go over their experience of culture shock in small groups.
Additional observations:	The teacher likes to use the Presentation Production Practice (PPP) approach, with a special emphasis on communicative language practice.
Focus on Resources and Technology
What learning materials do learners have?	Students use their textbook, their cellphones (mostly to look up vocabulary), and various printouts the teacher hands out to them.
What resources are used during the lesson?	The teacher makes use of the textbook, the projector for PowerPoint presentations, and audio recordings, which he plays from his laptop. The teacher also frequently uses the blackboard/whiteboard to write down instructions, definitions, and information on upcoming assignments/tests. Students also use the blackboard/whiteboard to write their answers from time to time.
What technology is available in the classroom?	There is a digital projector, a pull-down projection screen, whiteboard/blackboard, markers and chalk. Classrooms also have Wi-Fi access.
What technology is used?	A laptop is used to play audio recordings. In addition to this, the teacher uses the digital projector to show PowerPoint presentations with new vocabulary terms. During some activities, students will use their cellphone to look up definitions for words.
Are there any challenges observed in regard to resources and technology?	Sometimes it takes a few minutes (2-4 mins) to get the projector set up for the PowerPoint presentations. Also, there were a few instances where the class began, and the chalkboard was extremely dirty with excess chalk dust; this made it difficult to read what the teacher was writing on the board.
Additional observations:	This class is held in two different rooms, one on Mondays and Wednesdays, and in another room on Fridays. The room used on Fridays has a whiteboard, while the room used for Mondays and Wednesdays has a blackboard. Both rooms have digital projectors with pull-down screens.

              

Final Observation Report

From March 12^th to March 21^st, I had the opportunity to observe the 500 ELS English for Communication class offered by the XXXXXXXXXXXXX Intensive English Program. I attended five of the classes, which take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM and on Fridays from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. The class is made up of 16 young adult students at the high beginner/low intermediate level and is taught by XXXXXXXXXXXXXX. Over half of the students are from Japan (9), five are from China, with the remaining two being from Turkey and Argentina. The class focuses specifically on speaking and listening skills with an emphasis on using language for communicative purposes.

During my 10 hours of observation, I was able to observe the following best practices:

1.)    Presenting Materials:

Whenever my practicum teacher introduced a new topic or a new grammar rule, he always made sure to present it with a visual or an anecdote, anything that would prime the students to retain the content more effectively. For example, in one lesson, he showed the class a video of a boomerang to the class and then tied that in to a lesson on the “Boomerang Generation”. By showing the class this video, they were able to visually understand the connection between an actual boomerang and the term “Boomerang Generation.” In addition to this, he would frequently ask students to repeat concepts or directions in order to check their comprehension when presenting new materials; the students were always an active part of the presentation.

2.)    Engaging Students:

One thing that the practicum teacher did that I liked was call the students by name. I feel that this is a great way to build rapport with each student as it makes them feel important and not simply “another student”. The practicum teacher also engaged students by joining in on group discussions and asking students to share about their home countries. By having the students do this, he was able to make them create connections between the material and their own experiences. The teacher also often had the students answer questions aloud as well as have them come up to the blackboard. This got students actively participating in the lesson as well as got them moving, which is important in a two-hour class!

3.)    Responding to Student Questions:

My practicum teacher employed a variety of methods when answering student questions. In some cases, when the answer to the question would benefit the entire class (say a grammar question or a question about an activity), he would address the entire class. Chances are other students may have had this question, so he would do this to ensure all the students were on the same page. Another strategy my teacher would employ when answering questions is let the student try and figure out the answer, especially if it had anything to do with an assignment or a grammar rule; that way, the student could be an active part of the learning process, rather than simply receive an answer passively.

4.)    Incorporating Technology:

During my observation hours my practicum teacher incorporated a variety of technologies. When presenting new vocabulary, he would show the class a PowerPoint slideshow with the words, definitions and examples sentences. On these slides would also be images to help the students make visual representations of each word. My practicum teacher also used YouTube videos to introduce new concepts and to keep the class engaged.

5.)    Classroom Management:

Overall, the students in my observation class were very well behaved and had a high motivation to learn. However, from time-to-time the students would succumb to talking in their L1s during activities. My practicum teacher would approach these students and give them a friendly reminder to use English, emphasizing that the more they use English, the more they will improve. When teaching the class, my practicum teacher often used humor to illustrate new concepts. I found this especially effective because it kept the students interested in the explanations.

6.)    Error Correction:

My practicum teacher employed a wide variety of error correction methods when teaching the class. He emphasized that giving answers directly avoided, but rather let the student work out the answer with the teacher. Some error correction strategies he used included recasting, gestures to indicate an error has been made, and indicating the type of error that the student made (what’s the past tense of ‘eat’?). My practicum teacher also pointed out that there are times to correct a student’s errors and there are times to not do anything, such as when a student is practicing fluency. During fluency building activities, the goal is not to have accurate speech but rather to have effective communication.